What is keratin?
Keratin is a category of protein which makes up hair, skin and nails. In the context of this article, we will mention keratin as a hair protein only. For hair, keratin helps to protect it from damage and maintain its shine.
Why is there a need for keratin treatment?
As time goes by, this type of protein in human hair can get impaired by many factors such as daily hair-styling routines (blow-drying, curling, straightening) or chemical intervention (coloring, bleaching). Once something is damaged, people mostly tend to find a solution to fix it. And that’s why keratin treatments are needed. A keratin treatment performs by making up for the gaps in human hair where keratin has been damaged. Keratin treated hair, therefore, normally looks fine, shiny and silky. 6 months is the time required for keratin treatment.
How to maintain keratin treated hair: Do’s and Don’ts
After you receive the treatment, you should bear in mind some after-care pointers to protect your hair better.
1. Do’s
Maintain your hair dry:
Once you get to the salon, ask your stylist how long it will take for your hair to return to the water. Sometimes it’s about three days. However, since there are many different types of keratin treatments on the market today, the timing can be flexible.
Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Dry Shampoo will be a lifesaver if you still wait long to get washed back.
Don't choose sulfate-based shampoos and conditioners for keratin-treated hair
Before shampooing your hair, let’s select a shampoo and conditioner that have no sulfate. If you use a set containing sulfate, not only is it ineffective, but also seriously damages your hair. Concerning this, TRESemmé Pro Pure Micellar Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner is number 1 for us. You will regret skipping this set because it both tenderly cleanses and helps your hair absorb many beneficial nutrients.
You are advised not to shampoo your hair regularly after treating with the keratin
After three days from your keratin treatment, you should strive not to shampoo your hair day by day. This extremely important step will help the treatment last as long as possible.
Moreover, it is particularly vital for someone who has oily hair to cleanse their hair every day. If you are ones who have less oily hair, let's just do it. In addition, you should have a good shower cap to prevent water from getting into your hair when washing your hair.
Protect your hair safely after keratin treatment
Your hair is most susceptible within the following three days after the process of keratin treatment. What you should do is limit the use of hair ties and leave your hair loose. At the same time, do not follow the habit of pulling your hair behind your ears.
Get styling
It’s easier for your hair to style when you have finished the keratin velvety treatment. If you have any trouble with untidy hair, a detangler will be your perfect lifesaver after your keratin treatment.
Use a pillowcase by silk material
As you may know before, using a pillowcase with silk material not only helps lessen any friction but also makes your hair silky and less damaged. But now, using a silk pillowcase can cause more damages for your hair.
Blow-dry hair after working out
For initially three days of the keratin treatment process, you need to not let hair touch the water entirely, even sweat on your scalp. If your scalp is sweaty while exercising, quickly dry the strands. Because the sweat in your hair can ruin a whole treatment.
2. Don’ts
Adjust the warmness
Beginning your daily doing exercises routine after hair keratin treatment. This is because doing exercises makes you sweat, you will feel that your hair needs to be washed. Waiting for at least two weeks and starting with your habit.
It’s not the right time for cleansing shampoo:
It is very necessary for you to use a cleansing shampoo before receiving the keratin hair treatment because it helps remove the dirt from your hair. That’s right, it makes your hair absorb keratin faster before your keratin treatment. However, this kind of shampoo is absolutely not a thing you will need once your hair is treated with keratin because when your hair is washed properly, the keratin can be washed as well.
Forgetting to style your hair for a few days
You have to say no with ponytails, pigtails or any different types of plaits. Even leaving hair behind the earlobe after keratin treatment is banned. This damages your hair quickly.
Avoid the Headgears
For 2 weeks after the keratin treatment, try to stop using hair accessories as your hair will get curly from certain areas.
A pillow made of cotton is useless now
Cotton pillow covers may lead to your hair being curly and dry because this kind of material absorbs moisture well from your hair. Due to friction caused by cotton pillowcases when they come into contact with your hair, they can form tangles and knots which are bad for your hair.
Do not touch your hair
Most people also desire silky and soft hair. And once they already get it, they tend to touch it and want to feel it again and again. However, touching your hair more often makes it greasy, and you might want to shampoo your hair regularly.
Conclusion
So far, we have gone through three important points of this article, including the definition of keratin, the reason why there is a need for keratin treatment and the way to maintain keratin treated hair. In fact, taking care of your hair takes more of a journey than an article. Therefore, you should really be persistent in the way you care for your keratin-treated hair. Do it with care and knowledge, and it will soon be worth your while.